Hunt v. United States

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Appeal from the Superior Court of the District of Columbia (Hon. Henry F. Greene, Trial Judge)

Argued February 3, 1999

* The decision in this case was originally issued as an unpublished Memorandum Opinion and Judgment. It is now being published, with minor revisions, by direction of the court.

Appellant Darrell Hunt appeals from the judgment of the trial court finding him guilty of two counts of the lesser included offense of second degree murder while armed of Rolland Hayden and Clarence Gilchrist; *fn1 possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence, in violation of § 22-3204 (b); and carrying a pistol without a license, in violation of § 22-3204 (a). *fn2 He contends that the trial court erred in failing to: (1) consider the doctrine of concurrent intent with respect to his motion for judgment of acquittal of the murder of Clarence Gilchrist, and (2) instruct the jury on the theory of concurrent intent. Seeing no merit to these arguments, we affirm.

FACTUAL SUMMARY

The government's evidence introduced at Hunt's trial showed that on March 1, 1992, Hunt fired multiple shots, several of which killed Rolland Hayden, and one of which caused the death of Clarence Gilchrist. After playing basketball in the Potomac Gardens area of the District of Columbia with some of his friends, Hunt got into a Nissan Sentra car with other passengers. As the car was being driven in the 1400 block of K Street, S.E., Hunt's attention was called to a white Subaru automobile. Seated in that automobile was Hunt's girlfriend, "Penny", and Rolland Hayden. They were fighting. Eventually, the Nissan Sentra car stopped and positioned itself in front of the white Subaru.

Hunt and others got out of the Nissan Sentra. Hunt proceeded to the passenger side of the white Subaru and asked Penny why she was with Hayden. He also asked Hayden why he was fighting with Penny. Both told Hunt that Penny wanted to go to McDonald's to get food for her children. Hayden indicated that Penny had thrown soda on him.

While Hunt was arguing with Penny and Hayden, Clarence Gilchrist and Jawanza Williams drove by in a white Corvette. Gilchrist stopped the car when Williams saw a friend of his, Kenny and Kenny's infant son, parked at the corner of 15th and K Streets, S.E., in a burgundy van behind the white Subaru in which Penny and Hayden were seated. Gilchrist parked the white Corvette in an adjacent alley, got out, and walked towards the burgundy van carrying Kenny and his son. Williams remained in the Corvette. Williams heard Gilchrist tell Hunt and Hayden: "You-all need to just stop, stop this beefing . . . ." Penny was removed from the white Subaru with force and taken to the Nissan Sentra in which Hunt had been riding.

Hunt went over to the Nissan Sentra, looked inside, returned to the white Subaru, took an automatic pistol from his waistband and started shooting into the car where Hayden was still seated. Gilchrist, who at the time of the shooting was on the other side of the white Subaru, fell to the ground. Witnesses to the shooting heard ten to twenty or thirty "quick fire" shots. The medical examiner discovered ten gunshot wounds on Hayden's body, and one on Gilchrist's body.

The government called several witnesses, including two residents of the 1400 block of K Street, S.E., who witnessed the events; a friend of Hunt's for seventeen or twenty years, who also was an eyewitness; Jawanza Williams who was in the car with Gilchrist; and the Deputy Chief Medical Examiner for the District of Columbia. The defense called two witnesses, and sought to discredit the testimony of the government's witnesses.

Before the defense rested its case, the trial court discussed its proposed jury instructions with counsel. In response to the court's question as to whether there were any pre-trial submissions of proposed jury instructions, the government mentioned a proposed instruction regarding transferred intent. The defense had submitted no proposed instructions prior to trial.

During the Discussion of lesser included offenses, the trial court expressed its intent to instruct the jury on second degree murder and to give Instruction No. 4.17 (Homicide - First Degree Premeditated Murder and Second Degree Murder (No Justification Or Mitigation Generated)) from Criminal Jury Instructions for the District of Columbia (4th ed. 1993). When defense counsel asked for an instruction on involuntary manslaughter, the trial court decided to give Instruction No. 4.18 (Homicide - First Degree Premeditated Murder, Second Degree Murder, and Voluntary ...

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